The heart is composed of four compartments: two atriums and two ventricles. The blood that reaches the heart first accumulates in the atriums. From here, it is sent to the ventricles. Afterwards, it is redistributed to the body by the contractions of the ventricles. The harmony of this process depends on the electrical currents in our hearts.

How is the electrical current formed?

There is a particular region in the heart called the sinus node. The sinus node is strip of a muscle that is 15 mm in length, 3 mm in width, and 1 mm in thickness, and is located in the right atrium of the heart. The cells of this strip are responsible for producing electrical currents, and are created in a different fashion from the rest of the cells that are responsible for producing contractions. This is where the electrical currents in our hearts are periodically produced. Every cell in the body contains elements such as sodium, calcium, potassium and chlorine that are electrically charged. The elements which are electrically charged are called ions. These ions also exist in the extracellular environment. The intra cellular and extra cellular concentrations of these ions are different from each other. This situation causes a difference in the electrical potential between the interior and exterior of a cell. This difference is called a membrane potential. Periodically, the membrane potentials of the sinus cells show sudden jumps – meaning they suddenly increase and then suddenly decrease. Since the cells are in close contact with each other, such a jump in the membrane potential of one cell triggers a jump in the membrane potential of another cell. The electrical currency that enables the contraction of the heart is produced by this continuous triggering of cells. On average, 70 electrical currents per minute are produced in the sinus node. These currents start being produced while a person is in the womb of their mother and continues their whole lifetime. The heart of an embryo starts beating while it is only 22 days old. However, the height of the embryo at this point has not even reached 1 cm. Isn’t it an amazing force that creates the beating heart of such a small embryo and keeps it going a lifetime?

How is the electrical current distributed?

Another node called the atrio ventricular node was created in between the atriums and ventricles in our heart. While the current coming from the sinus node is spread to the whole of the atrium, it is by this node that the current is sent to particular fibers. The task of this node is to hang on to the current coming from the sinus node for a while. Why does the current need to be held on to? Because blood can only enter the ventricles while it is resting and by holding on to it, the contraction of the ventricles is disabled while the contraction of the atriums is taking place. By this process, the blood coming from the atrium can enter the ventricle. Therefore, the blood fills in the ventricles and can be distributed throughout the body. The blood circulation is enabled in a flawless manner by allowing the atriums to do their duty while the ventricles wait.

After passing through the atrio ventricular node, the electrical currency eventually goes through the purkinje fibers. These fibers surround the ventricles like a web and are composed of cells that can conduct electrical current in a very fast manner. Compared to the atrio ventricular node, the electrical current can be conducted 150 times faster in the purkinje fibers. Therefore, the current reaches every point of the ventricles in a very short period of time. Every muscle in the ventricles contracts in a time shorter than one tenth of a second.

The muscles in the ventricles rapidly contract, one by one, depending on when the current reaches them. The contraction starts at the end of the ventricles and carries on towards the main veins exiting the heart. By this orderly and harmonious contraction, the blood is pumped from the end of the heart towards the main veins exiting the heart to be distributed among the body. Because all the ventricle muscles are stimulated very fast, the contraction also happens very fast, resulting in a strong pumping effect. The design of this system is incredibly wise, right down to its most minute detail.

Movement in heart muscle potential

As all cells in our body, the cells in the heart also have a membrane potential. We had stated before that this membrane potential is the result of the difference in intra and extra cellular ion concentrations. The charges of these ions are different from each other. For example, sodium and potassium have plus one (+1) charges, calcium has a plus two (+2) charge, and chlorine has a negative one (-1) charge. The resting potential of a cell is negative. This means that there are more negative ions within the cell when compared to its environment. Sodium, calcium, and potassium ions are mobile through the membrane. While sodium and calcium have a higher concentration outside the cell, potassium has a higher intra cellular concentration compared to its environment. There are channels created on the cell membrane that allow ions to pass through the membrane. The sudden increase in the membrane potential that was explained before causes a sudden rush of sodium ions inside the cell. This is such a rapid movement that it is concluded in a tenth of a second. Right after the entrance of the sodium ions, calcium ions also enter. Because these ions are positively charged, the membrane potential becomes positive.

With the entering of calcium ions into the cell, calcium ions are also released from the storages within the cell. By triggering the protein necessary for these contractions, the calcium ions become a means for the contraction of the heart muscles. Meanwhile, the potassium channels open and these ions within the cell pass to the extra cellular environment. The loss of positive ions results in the membrane potential being negative again. Therefore, the sudden jump in membrane potential that is the basis for the electrical current is created.

However, at this point there are extra amounts sodium and calcium within the cell and extra amounts of potassium outside the cell. The concentrations need to be returned to their original values for the next jump in the membrane to be possible. This task is given to a protein called the sodium-potassium pump that pumps out sodium from the cell and pumps in potassium. If this pump had not been created, the ion balance in any of the cells within the body would be impossible to re-establish. As a result, the life of the cells would come to an end. However, because of the remarkable intricacy of our cells, life is made possible for us.

Afterwards, some amount of the calcium ions are pumped out of the cell with a similar pump, while the rest are stored within the cell. The decrease in the concentration of calcium relaxes the muscle. Now the heart muscle has gone into relaxation and therefore is ready for the next contraction.

If the movement of the ions becomes unbalanced, the rhythm of our heart is disturbed. The unbalance in the ion movements or blockage in heart veins can be reasons for heart rhythm disorders. Even small heredity-based defects in the ions pumps affect the movement of these ions and can cause heart rhythm disorders. This situation shows that nothing is created by coincidence.

Movement in the sinus node

The jump in the membrane potential of a heart cell depends on the membrane potential jump of the previous cell. Through the gaps in between the cells that are in contact with each other, the positive ions that exit a cell reach the membrane of the cell next to it and trigger the opening of its ion pumps. As a result, the membrane potential of that cell starts changing. At this point, you may have this question: how does the electrical current start in one end of the sinus node that is not previously triggered by any cell?

This concept is explained by the ion transfer mechanism of the node cells being different than the muscle cells. Before explaining this, it should be noted that even while resting, a mechanism for allowing an ion exchange of the cell with its surrounding has been created. In the node cells, this exchange while at rest has been created in a way that the sodium and calcium exchange is larger and the potassium exchange is lower compared to the muscle cells during resting conditions. Therefore, the membrane potential of the node cells is less negative and slowly increases with time. As a result of this slow but steady increase, after a while it reaches a threshold. When it reaches it, the calcium channels in the membrane suddenly open and there is a rush of calcium ions into the cell. Thus, the jump in the membrane potential is created independently from another cell.

As it can be observed, even a single contraction of our heart depends on a very detailed, delicate, and complex system. Moreover, this system is repeated over a hundred thousand times within one day. After reflecting on this, how can we claim this system runs by coincidence or chance?

Turkey is currently the sixth largest market for electricity in Europe and this demand for energy has made Turkey one of the fastest growing global markets for fuel. The expected energy demand for Turkey by 2020 is expected to be 570 GWh (giga watts per hour) (Demirbas 2005, 615). Today, Turkey pays approximately $50 billion a year to other countries for their high quality oil, gas and coal. If nothing is done to develop alternative sources of energy, it is expected that the cost to import fuel from other countries will cost Turkey a staggering $100 billion in 2020. Fortunately, in 2005, Turkey passed a Renewable Energy Law to bring the country more in line with European Union regulations and standards to meet the growing electricity demand and to diversify sources of energy.

Wind power

Turkey could potentially meet all its total energy needs solely from the use of wind energy. The most attractive sites for wind energy utilization and generation are the Marmara, South East Anatolian and Aegean regions. The first wind energy farm was established in Izmir, Turkey in February 1998 with a 1.5 MW capacity (Hepbasli and Ozgener, 2004). On the other hand, the U.S. started harvesting wind power 17 years before Turkey. We need to keep in mind that the U.S. is on a grand scale when compared to Turkey. It is interesting to see the trends for the usage of wind energy between these two countries. The current electricity production from wind for Turkey is about 433 MW (Megawatts) as compared to 35,000 MW for U.S. While Turkey is targeting to achieve a quarter of its potential, 20,000 MW by 2020, the U.S. is intending to reach 90% of its potential and reach 10×108 MW (Table 1) by 2020.

Table 1: Wind power: Turkey and U.S.

Solar power

In terms of the potential of solar power, both Turkey and the U.S. are amongst the most propitious countries in the world by having a range of 175- 200 watts per square meter per day (David Wheeler, Global Developments for Future Blog, comment posted on February 19, 2008).

The most advantageous region in Turkey for the harvesting of solar energy is its Southwest due to its geographic location in the Mediterranean. It is quite common to come across solar panels on top of the roofs in Southwestern Turkey. Photovoltaic (PV) systems are currently limited in use in Turkey but they are on the rise. In Silifke, located south central Anatolia (about 200 km away from Adana), a PV system is currently being used to power irrigation pumps. In order to encourage investors to invest their money into the development of solar power in Turkey the government subsidies need be increased and include the current 5.5 euro-cents/KWh feed-in-tariff.

The most common places where you would see heavy solar power usage for everything from day and night lighting to heating the pool in Turkey are in Eco-homes (left), and Solar cities (right).

Source: http://www.qurbaa.com/images/eko-evleri.jpg

Source: www.solartek.com.tr/tr/index.asp?ID=34

*The hot water heating system installations cover about 10 Million m2 surface.

What is interesting to note is that currently Turkey is amongst the top five countries in the world in the amount of solar power used to heat their water.

Hydropower

According to the Idaho National Laboratory, approximately 6,000 MWs is the gross power potential of U.S. hydropower, of which only about 16 percent can be developed with economical feasibility. About 76 percent of this potential has already been developed, and the remaining portion is to be developed by 2020. On the other hand, Turkey has a somewhat different scenario where the gross hydropower potential is 435 MW, of which only 29% is economical feasible for development and only 35% of that potential has been developed to this date (Yuksek et al. 2007).

After Turkey declared its support for the Kyoto Protocol, it has given a big push for renewable sources of energy, especially wind and hydropower. With the required regulations passed after Kyoto, and with the more recent Copenhagen Accord, Turkey has adapted rigorous development plans for its hydropower potential. The total number of current hydropower projects is over 350, and it is estimated that Turkey can meet up to 46% of the energy demand in 2020 from hydropower resources (Yuksek et al. 2007).

Lifestyles

One of the most important issues for environmental consciousness is energy efficiency. Saving energy is a way of life, not just a part of it.

The automobile has become an integral part of American life with vehicles outnumbering licensed drivers: 254 million cars and 194 million licensed drives. In Turkey the latest statistics showed that there are only 23 million licensed drivers as compared to the 16 million cars on the road. These statistics proves that people living in Turkey tend to more commonly use alternative means of travel, such as the public transportation system, rather than driving their own cars, especially in the larger cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Konya and Bursa. In Istanbul there are even designated lanes along the highway for buses. Although buses, subway, and streetcars are among the preferred ways of transportation since their network pretty much covers everywhere, however, the big cities are still experiencing heavy traffic on the streets due to passenger cars.

The good news is that in Turkey the vast majority of the fleet of taxis and buses have been converted to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) form, saving energy and money.

Environment awareness amongst the populace is also on the rise as well. Having young minds working on the cultural practices that need to be changed for a sustainable future requires both courage and time. To this end, Turkey has devoted the week of January 11th to raise the awareness for energy efficiency. Turkish schools celebrate this week by educating students from all ages in terms of matters governing energy and efficiency.

Rain water catchment systems, have always been part of the architectural design for buildings, however, the water collected from the roof was basically drained down to the garden and was not very practical. With the young generation raising awareness to not waste this precious resource, people have created better designs to capture and find a better use for the rain water.

Rain gutter designs are quite different in Turkey in comparison to the U.S. as well; instead of having them on the side of the curbs, they are designed as screens along the streets. Some cities have canals that bring melted snow and rain water to the middle of the city from the mountains in the vicinity. This water is then used for irrigation purposes.

According to the 2004 statistical figures of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) 34 million tons of municipal waste and 17.5 million tons of industrial waste are produced in Turkey annually. The amount of wastes produced per person in Turkey reaches up to 1 kg (2.2 lbs) daily, of which 34% is food waste. This figure is very small in comparison to waste generation in the United States. The average waste generation in the U.S. is 3.5 kg (7 lbs) per person per day. It is believed that the cultural habits and practices of a people can affect the energy efficiency and minimize waste generation in their country. The practices in Turkey include but are not limited to using the produce when it is abundant and preserving it for later use either by drying fruits and vegetables, creating pastes (such as tomato paste), making marmalade and jams, as well as canning fruits and vegetables and pickling vegetables.

When it comes to our garbage, waste prevention – rather than waste management – is the best way to reduce environmental stress (Brown 2008, 7). It might come as a shock to some, but the most common drink in Turkey, black tea, is still today served in reusable glass cups (below). This differs in the U.S. where 16 billion paper cups are used for coffee on average in 2006, resulting in 253 million pounds of waste (Hillary Feldman, About My Planet Blog, comment posted on May 29, 2008). We need to adapt to thinking in terms of “Waste equals food” as Paul Bierman-Lytle, an architect working for the American engineering firm CH2M Hill, described the concept that waste from one system should provide food for another, whether an industrial system or an ecosystem.

Having said all the above, some of the highlights from Turkey’s future plans include the following: accelerating expansion in renewable sources of energy, aligning Turkey with the European Union regarding renewable sources of energy, using the Multilateral Clean Tech Fund – according to the World Bank, Turkey is the first to receive that fund in 2009 – reduce greenhouse gas emissions, subsidize investors and investments in renewable energy resources, reduce waste generation and improve waste recovery with the help of research and development on these issues.

As humans, although we might see ourselves losing the battle of “Saving the Earth” today, however, we still have the chance to turn things around before it is too late.

I believe if we all work hand in hand to raise global citizens, who can understand and value common humanity, we can get us to work together toward a sustainable future.

Fethiye Ozis is a Lecturer, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at University of Southern California.

References

• – About My Planet Blog, http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/environment/paper-unsustainable/
• – Brown, Lester R. Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, W.W. Norton & Company
• – Center for Global Development Blog, http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment
• – Demirbas, A. “Competition Potential of Wind Power Plants” Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, Volume 27, Issue 7 May 2005, p 605 – 612.
• – DIE (State Statistics Institute). Statistics of Turkey in 2003. 2004. DIE. Turkey.
• – Hepbasli, A.; Ozgener, O. “A review on the development of wind energy in Turkey” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 8, Issue 3, June 2004, p 257-276.
• – Omer Yuksek, Murat Kankal, Murat Ihsan Komurcu, Hizir Onsoy, and Adem Akpinar. 2007. The Importance of Hydropower plants in Turkey’s Energy Planning.Paper presented at the international Congress on River Basin Management, March 22-24, in Antalya, Turkey
• – Turk Medya Adana, CNN Turk http://www.turkmedya.com/V1/Pg/detail/NewID/131268/CatID/6/CityName/Adana/ TownID/2/Header/gunes_enerjisi_tarimda_kullanildi.html

The human life, likewise, is marked by an experience of exhibition. The entire universe is out there for us to visit every day and every moment and cherish the beauties therein. The human being is no less an exhibition. As eloquently mentioned in the lead article we are blessed with a perfect physical structure that “whichever organ we may study, it is impossible not to feel admiration before its anatomy.” But the human is not only what it appears outside: “the depth of the inner world of a person has such rich potential to develop, and the potential to keep developing dimensions within; a complicated brain and a spirit with an elusive essence that evades material measure; and then the perfectly harmonious relation of these two phenomena-the physical and the spiritual together. . . mysterious beings… Within everything are meanings crystallized from the hues in the corona of that magnificent artwork-the human and her dignity.” The lead article is complemented with other articles in this issue on some of the fantastic abilities given to the human: the miraculous human birth, sneezing as a protective alarm system for our body, and the amazing Endoplasmic Reticulum which is the “industry district” in our cell where “most of the factories of molecules produced by chemical reactions are found.”

The Fountain continues to partner with civil society organizations and universities for international conferences and other events around the world. The earliest ones in the pipeline are the “Peacebuilding through Education” conference in New York, September 24, and “Ideal Human and Ideal Society” conference in Lahore, Pakistan, November 21. One concurrent event with the New York conference is Peace in a Frame photography competition. You will see ads of these events in this issue, and please refer to the listed websites for further information.

Your essence is even loftier than angels.
Hidden in you are spheres and compacted globes
Mehmed Akif

The human is the main subject of every philosophical and scientific view. Neither any philosophy nor any science can be developed without taking human beings into consideration. With both physical and metaphysical sides, the human being is the ultimate subject of all sciences, and all avenues of investigation can be evaluated in relation to their significance for human dignity.

Sciences explore different human qualities, through the various branches, in books that multiply continuously, overflow, and diffuse light all over.

The body shape and function of the human is so perfectly adjusted that it marks an unbelievably ideal structure. Whichever organ we may study, it is impossible not to feel admiration before its anatomy.

And the depth of the inner world of a person has such rich potential to develop, and the potential to keep developing dimensions within; a complicated brain and a spirit with an elusive essence that evades material measure; and then the perfectly harmonious relation of these two phenomena-the physical and the spiritual together. . . mysterious beings… Within everything are meanings crystallized from the hues in the corona of that magnificent artwork-the human and her dignity.

Here, we will neither touch on this magnificent corporeality, nor delve into the inner dimensions of an individual we can hardly sense in any event. Instead, we are going to mention a few potentials and abilities that dignify the human.

The human is a difficult creature to understand in all qualities. The complexities begin from the day of we come into this world and continue. Except for the human, every creature comes to this world as if already trained about life. As for human beings, in spite of being the most magnificent and esteemed creatures, we are born devoid of all these inherent gifts and functions necessary for life. Everything that goes beyond the mechanical order of physicality develops in a person thanks to reason, mind, will, freedom, sense, and introspection. Thus, a person maintains the unity of inner and outer reality, and only in this way does an individual attain selfhood.

These potentialities, which exist in all human beings as an intention and a herald of being a great figure in the future, can only flourish through training and education. Discovering dignity requires introspection and self-criticism. Leaving a person alone to whatever whims come along means leaving one in a most miserable condition. A seed or group of seeds needs to be cultivated to grow into the most perfect thing it is intended to be. As the lion comes to the world with the paw it needs, and the cattle with horns, a person arrives in the world needing to cultivate all means to preserve one’s self, to flourish, and to work together toward mutual dignity.

A person should use his insight and intellect, will and reason and then invent things to obtain what is beneficial and avoid what is harmful. Thus she establishes both an individual and social world, where she can find serenity. And then persons can pass to future generations the works they formed and the values they established, so that dignity can be preserved in both heart and mind.

It is natural for a person to do these things, because we are not concerned with the very moment only. Past and future are always vivid along with the present and are pieces of any existent reality. For this reason, even though those who have contributed to the development of thought and science throughout history could not personally see the fruits of their efforts, they did not feel languor and give up working. They worked and strived for humanity, leaving an immense heritage in the name of knowledge and culture. If it weren’t so, we would neither be able to talk about science nor civilization on earth.

In addition to sciences, accumulation of knowledge, and heritage of civilization, human dignity, human perfection and virtue are the fruit of human efforts again. Developing potentialities, regulating human behavior, channeling people to good and virtuous paths are the results of human effort. All through history, one generation after another inherited the refined manners and quest for dignity of the previous generation and took it as a duty to improve it. In this respect, the greatest gift the former generations presented to the latter was teaching good manners and edification of human dignity! Edification prevents a person from being diverted from human dignity due to base inclinations. By setting the frame of acts and activities, edification prevents any individual from running wild and degenerating. At the same time, edification helps develop the potentialities every human comes equipped. Edification helps the capabilities hidden in human spirit to be unearthed and to flourish.

There are always seeds of the good and beautiful in us; seeds of the bad and ugliness are non-existent. Even feelings like lust, rage, and revenge in a way can be seen as sprouts for indirect beautiful outcomes. However, one thing should not be forgotten: that as the beauty of everything positive or negative is the result of some edification, true human dignity depends on edification again. We need edification to make our reason, will, and introspection to utilize all their functions. Edification dignifies humanity above animal existence. Edification allows us a degree of autonomy before nature, which operates according to rules of causality. Through edification, the human can be dignified by being attached to the Absolute, Free, and Sovereign One. This distinguishing trait is developed through being a rational creature possessing will and introspection.

Reason, as defined in philosophy, is to be able to derive particularities from general conditions by framing laws and principles. So it is this power of reasoning that underlies the basis of the difference between beast and human. Reason is the prime faculty that makes us human; however, it is not given in its perfected form and matured condition, but in a simple and potential state. A person has to elaborate what makes us different from animals and make this potential flourish. When reason becomes a corridor between the inner and outer worlds, it gains a totally different identity. If we call this a combination of finding oneself and being found, then the conscience plays the role of a “reason” which makes our judgments of deeds and shows us which way to act. The ultimate aim and the loftiest ideal of reason-the ultimate source of human dignity-is coming to knowledge of the Divine. The reason or mind which has come to know God attains wisdom and undertakes conscientious responsibilities that promote the dignity of all.

One of the qualities that make a person human is freedom; in other words, we have the capacity to decide our own acts. We possess an active reason. We have “autonomy.” This way, a person supersedes the rest of creation, living or non-living; this brings us not only the ability to control our acts, but accountability for them. It is not possible to explain morality and immorality without taking freedom and human will into consideration. Sheer materialist and positivist accounts of human beings, which see us as machines and deny free will, lead to superficial and banal conclusions.

So it seems that we are obliged to accept that each person has a free and independent side, namely, there is a dimension which is not determined by laws in nature and which constitutes a basis for morality. Ultimately, this freedom results from being the addressee of a divine authority, leads to the need to carry out the responsibilities that correspond to this dignified position, which means discerning right from wrong based on both extrinsic and intrinsic reasoning.

This dignity merges cognitions about the outer world with introspection. A meaningful, dignified life is like a ray of light that provides its own verification. Dignity opens inlets to the beyond of the realm of possibility. It is as if one feels an ascent (“miraj”) from the dimensions of the present space. Such an ascension-depending on the circulation of the mind, stability of the will, and soundness of contemplation-is possible for every individual. Each of us takes a share from this dignity according to the capacity of the bowl in our hands and the heavenly drink it contains.

And further beyond, there is such a point, which the most perfected figures, the most magnificent wills, and those of deepest introspection and spiritual delight reach: it is the contemplation of the matchless beauty of our magnificent Creator who makes us feel His being beyond our own, makes us feel His Will beyond ours and who lets us enjoy this bliss.

For centuries, generations have been alien and indifferent to this lofty journey. Making people conscious of their dignified essence, letting reason flourish and vitalizing the will, purifying human feelings and maintaining our contact with the rest of creation: this is a duty upon our eminent educators.

Here I address once more those who are responsible for training the new generations. Do not delay guiding them to the values that render us truly human. That is our responsibility before history: to promote the dignity that keeps us from destroying each other.

Gifted education involves several procedures such as testing, identification and tracking students to challenge their potential to the fullest. Initially, students take several tests including tests of intelligence, creativity, and motivation and must perform well enough to get into a gifted program. Following this testing, they have a label that they and others know quite well, gifted. Frequently, this means grouping them separately from their non-gifted peers. Accordingly, they follow a different curriculum, and attend different programs that are not available to others. Also, some practices that often occur when teaching or interacting with gifted students, such as a teacher’s or parent’s praise, convey direct and hidden messages. These messages, in essence, consistently remind them of how superior they are. Ultimately, they are taught to enjoy their superiority with a minimal or no clue about being virtuous. Most educators pay a great attention to increase their self-esteem while they were indifferent for the possibility of arrogance and conceit. Nevertheless, the “privilege” of being in the top 5 or smaller percent dramatically shapes the identity of the gifted individual from early ages. With the self–esteem enhancement movements in 80’s, the importance of humility as a significant virtue has been ignored among educators. They mostly perceived lack of self-esteem as a big problem whereas lack of humility was rather acceptable. However, potential of the gifted individuals, like any other person, deserves a more gracious treatment that regards them as human beings rather than better human resources for the nation and economy.

Corollary to the deficits in educators’ approaches to the gifted individuals, their emotional and moral development have been omitted. When one searches the studies on the development of positive moral characteristics of the gifted, such as, humility, there is almost no study on those issues. Humility in itself is a crucial virtue for several reasons. First, humility allows gifted individuals to recognize that they cannot control everything in every situation. Their superior abilities compared to their peers become a huge burden because others and their own expectations about themselves are mostly quite high. Failures and unexpected academic performance are less tolerable for the gifted. Crucially, humble gifted individuals can successfully handle challenging situations because their moral development valuing humility functions as a buffer zone and make them more resilient against challenges of life. People can have a more realistic view of themselves as long as they are well aware of their real inadequacies.

Vera and Rodriguez-Lopez (2004) pointed to the positive role of humility on competition in the organizations. They argued that fear of failure impedes people from taking initiative and humility helps people to reduce their fear of failure with the premise that people with no experience of failure are unlikely to try again. Secondly, humility helps gifted individuals to have a better and more realistic understanding about one’s self. Humble gifted people can realize their own weaknesses. This is also important for the gifted because very few people criticize them while many others praise their ability. In such a social climate, a true understanding of oneself is not an easy task. Thirdly, humble people can empathize with others easily. Gifted individuals mostly have concerns for others and have a keen moral sensitivity. However, feeling of superiority can hurt their healthy relationships with others; thus, other people become less likely to enjoy being together with them. Humble people have an increased valuation of others without a decrease in their valuation of themselves (Means & Wilson, 1990), and, thus, the need for humility is even more important for the gifted individuals.

Humility represents a major dilemma of gifted education: Although several procedures, facilities and resources are developed and implemented for the gifted, they inherently trigger a grandiosity effect. As a result of that, usual practices in the gifted education seem to nurture a less realistic view of self which is not less dangerous than the lack of self-esteem. Unfortunately, educators tend to ignore the presence of the dilemma and insist on particular practices without pondering upon the potential damages. What kinds of precautions can be taken to raise humble gifted individuals? What other messages should be given to them? Among many possible methods to overcome this problem, the following recommendations can be taken into consideration in educational and psychological practices.

1. Giftedness as a responsibility

Conceptualization of the giftedness needs fine-tuning. Traditional perspectives that seek the differences between gifted and non-gifted individuals have created a self-fulfilling prophecy: Gifted individuals have been marginalized and alienated. So-called unrealistic perception of giftedness has led to a perception of “superiority” over others. Remarkably, giftedness, as a concept, implies being the one who was awarded with some qualities which other people do not have. The concept also implies the passivity of the gifted because he was given, not necessarily because he deserves it. Corollary to this, gifted individuals should be taught about the responsibilities along with the gifts. Unlike the current practices, educators should emphasize the individual and social responsibilities corresponding to giftedness.

Individual responsibilities of the gifted individuals are related to the importance of realizing their personal strengths and skills and investing for their potential appropriately. In educational context, many gifted students tend to take the classes easy and pay attention to other “more interesting” things. They tend to make no effort beyond what the classes require, and their potential is not challenged. Individual responsibility defined as fulfillment of one’s own potential should replace externally defined responsibilities which are neither challenging nor motivating for the gifted.

Social responsibilities are critical for the gifted individuals because their potential can lead to both positive and negative changes at the societal level. Many scientific innovations facilitating our lives today are the gifted minds’ contributions to human beings. On the other hand, they could have devoted their potential to harmful innovations, too. The gifted individuals, therefore, are those who can build the civilizations with all advanced systems of technology, transportation and communication, and destroy them with mass destruction weapons, such as atom bombs. Employing the strengths and capacities to the benefit of human beings should be set as a basic goal for the gifted individuals.

2. Importance of effort over ability

Overemphasis on abilities and consideration of abilities as fixed traits tend to block gifted individuals. If people think that they possess a superior capacity and this is more or less stable, they may have difficulty in making for their goals. They often compromise their high ability with less effort that may result in underachievement and dropouts. The importance of effort and struggle over ability and performance should be integrated to the educational system.

Valuation of effort can be achieved through differentiating the curriculum for the gifted students. For example, the research indicate that easy learning materials and having a better standing in the class with respect to school achievement lead to ability attributions while mental effort and task commitment induce effort attributions (Dweck, 2006, Nicholls, 1978; Schunk, 1994). That means students tend to attribute the achievements to their abilities in easy tasks while they tend to attribute their performance in hard tasks to their hard work. Preparing the curriculum at an appropriate level of difficulty, by which students can be challenged but still can comprehend the content with some effort, should be a major task for the educators. In this way, the frame of reference for the gifted becomes the degree to which they struggle toward their goals rather than the gifts, capacities and strengths they possess.

3. Learning goals instead of performance goals

Goal setting is a crucial aspect of the education of the gifted people. Goal setting is influenced by the way educators assess student performances. There has been a tendency to evaluate school performance through objective, psychometric measures. Even though those measures are more reliable, the information gained from those measures are restricted, comparing the gifted with their counterparts instead of indicating the level at which the gifted fulfill their potential. Learning goals which can be set through individual projects should be the focus of evaluation rather than performance goals which tend to reduce the evaluation to the numbers. Learning goals also seem to be safer for the gifted since it focuses on the discovery of strategies that lead to desired outcomes whereas performance goals tend to have deleterious effects as people are preoccupied with the end result. Therefore, a third task for the educators is to preserve the gifted students from the detrimental effects of mechanical measurement of the performance. In this way, students have criterion set at their own pace for their success rather than external criteria set by others.

The above suggestions, which can be the basic steps of the fundamental changes in the system, can be further enumerated. The dilemma with the gifted education mentioned above is institutionally induced; therefore, the solutions should be addressed at the institutional level. By virtue of those changes in the educational settings, the programs for gifted education can become more individual-based and less mechanical, ultimately caring more about the critical human virtues such as humility. The political developments helped the gifted education programs to blossom, but it brought some side-effects. Educators must see those gaps and generate solutions that care about the gifted individuals.

References

• Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
• Nicholls, J. G. (1978). The development of the concepts of effort and ability, perception of academic attainment, and the understanding that difficult tasks require more ability. Child Development, 49, 800-814.
• Schunk, D. H. (1994). Self-regulation of self-efficacy and attribution in academic settings. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and educational applications (pp. 75-99). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Vera, D. & Rodriguez-Lopez, A. 2004. Strategic virtues: Humility as a source of competitive advantage. Organizational Dynamics, 33, 4: 393-408.

“I am a lowly creature” you say O man Only if you knew…” M. Akif

The human is unique. We are self-conscious and can exercise self-control. Ironically, too many neglect this unique ability.

How many individuals can we count who develop a habit of frequent self-criticism? How many do we know who examine themselves yet again each and every day: weaknesses and strengths, internal chasms and power centers, losses and gains? How many do we know who take the time to reflect on the state of their soul in a down-to-earth manner? The unique capacity of humanity is this self-examination, which is akin to the way a conscientious, qualified, and sensible physician would treat a patient. How many do we know who engage regularly in this self-examination, not because of a temporary admiration or idle curiosity, and not in the sense of degrading oneself by poking into one’s vices, but for the sake of exploring one’s self and increasing discernment?

“Know thyself.” This lofty saying of Socrates is well-known at centers of learning throughout the world, including many Sufi schools where it was reinterpreted with a mystical dimension: the one who has perceived the secrets of his or her own self has also known God. How many can we count who appreciatively interpreted and lived up to this saying? I do not think we can count many. Yet those who are insufficiently self-aware or who have narrow horizons also cannot know about other people or things, perhaps with the exception of some surface and inconsistent knowledge. Covering the entire earth from one end to the other with an eye of reflection-the awesome rise of the mountains, rivers cascading for infinity, lights and depths of the sky more magical than the most enchanting harmony that offer a new parade every night, eternal colors glittering from behind all these lace curtains-these can find their true meanings and values only if they can be processed through the prism of the knowledge of the divine inherently found in the human. Otherwise, all existence, each component of which is a combination of materialized speech and meaningful words interwoven in the Hidden Tablet, would not only become meaningless, but turn into chaos.

Since the first day humans appeared on earth, we have studied ourselves: sometimes superficially and at other times profoundly, sometimes crudely and at other times subtly, sometimes from a bird’s eye view and at other times microscopically. The human is incomparable: material and soulful, physical and spiritual, emotional and rational. Yet what a bundle of contradictory and often opposing attributes! as sweet as honey, yet disgusting as slime; vast and open to eternity, yet constrained and narrowed with stupidity; welcoming with humility, yet rejecting with pride and arrogance; transparent and secure, yet mischievous and treacherous; altruistic, selfless, and supportive, yet selfish and ego-centered; peaceful, fair, and merciful, yet wild, aggressive, and cruel; sincere, direct, and speaking from the heart, yet fake, hypocritical, and flattering; prudent, ingenious, and with a solid perspective, yet short-sighted, foolish, and clownish. Whatever attributes we may feature, they are all human! These differences and contrarieties do not reflect our true essence, nor do they relate to so-called inner instincts, instinctual protection, or some natural inclination to reproduction-as some used to suppose. It also is by no means right to relate these to the existentialist approach of being whatever one wants to be, as if humanity were infinitely malleable.

No. It is true that the human is specially created to become almost anything across a wide-ranging spectrum. Human nature changes from darkness to light, with infinite colors in between; it is a unique potential of humanity to rise infinitely to the highest of all and to fall to the horrendous lowest of the low. The uniqueness of humanity is that we are implanted with seeds of spirituality and carnality. How we express ourselves-what color we reflect-depends on whether we are directed to an eternal prophetic goal, or not; whether we mine and appreciate the human ore in our soul, or not; whether we claim our potential power, or not; whether we dive deeply into the heart to disclose its spiritual depths, or not; whether we decide correctly when to exercise our human willpower, or not; whether we discern the secrets behind the conscious, or not; whether we turn our emotions to the beyond, or not; and whether we become aware of how the mechanism of conscience operates, or not.

Seekers of a life in the vast ocean of their souls and in the depths of their hearts, who always remain centered on their conscience, will rise to a level “higher than angels.” Of course they may stumble at times. Of course they can be hampered by the thorns found in one corner of their nature. Conversely, captives who live in the shackles of their body, corporeality, and social conventions are submerged deeper as if in a whirlpool and dragged down to a level “lower than a beast.” For them, the human is a “thinking animal” which is a victim of this life that is programmed according to a digestion-circulation-excretion system. Humanity is in this view no different than a reservoir of libido that is never satisfied and yet grows sickened in its own excess.

Of course, the body, corporeality, and society do have significant roles to play in our lives, but humanity also is equipped with a potential much superior to any of these. Indeed, that potential has the capacity to overcome anything in this world. Humans possess an inner dynamism to overcome both themselves and all the worlds. If we can turn our inherent powers and possibilities to the true source of all powers and possibilities, then we can surpass transient qualities; we can enrich all the decaying and crumbling pieces of existence with priceless meaning and nature, and make them qualified for eternity.

Today we can harness thunderbolts and put them in humanity’s service. We can observe the minutest particles in the atomic world and the planets millions of years away. We can cover unfathomable distances with our feelings, thoughts, imagination, discoveries, and inventions. Nevertheless, we fail to realize our true uniqueness when we fall into savagery, selfishness, lawlessness, ambition, indifference, self-indulgence, and lethargy. Despite our transcendent capacity, we are facing this curse because of a false interpretation of ourselves.

As the only Muslim woman in the room, outside their prayer circle, I was there to observe their prayer session by the invitation of my friend C. As they sighed and tried to find words to console and inspire one another, I could feel their despair about creating a more peaceful and understanding world. They were truly concerned about America’s position in maintaining peace in the world, but after the events of the last decade, they ran out of hope.

When they don’t have hope, what could they pray for?

Pitched into this darkness, I heard myself say, ‘Well, actually, I am feeling hope.’ There was an uneasy creak of folding chairs and tired faces. Their looks said, ‘Please, not another voice of denial…’ but they were kind enough to listen to what I had to say. ‘I think America has the greatest potential for peace,’ I continued. Glimmers of candlelight played across the eyes in the room. Having heard a Muslim woman say this was new for them.

‘Well, I think so because…’ I paused for a moment to search for the right words, and continued, ‘… because it all began with French fries.’ Once I saw their puzzled faces and the half smiles playing on their lips, I knew I had caught their attention to tell them my story. When I saw, for the first time, people calmly dipping individual fries into cups of ketchup with bare fingers, I had just arrived in America to go to the graduate school. I couldn’t believe that they used no forks, no toothpicks—just eating greasy fries with their bare hands. How crude, I thought. But then another foreign student from Morocco shared with me that in her country, people ate with their hands, too, and that eating with one’s hands enhances the flavor of the food. I saw her, also for the first time in my life, enjoy chicken biryani with her fingers. It was my first glimpse of just how wide the world was. It was the fragrance of my own budding tolerance.

After I saw how eager they were to hear about it, I continued my story. I told them I had come to the United States ten years before, on a college scholarship from Turkey. I’ll be honest. Before coming to America, I had never spoken to a person who was not Muslim, much less shared a meal with them. But here, in America, where I met fellow graduate students from India, China, Africa and Europe, I experienced first-hand that we could all live and eat in our own unique ways, learning side by side, and live in peace. My tolerance grew.

Then I walked in to the Islamic Center of the city I lived in. I saw different Muslims, from around the world, in different clothing, of different races, speaking different languages, bowing down in reverent prayer side by side. All those differences seemed like jewels and beads on an elegant dress, enriching and beautifying the fabric in harmony. It was a vision, and witnessing it, I felt such a profound peace. I thought, though they, my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, dress or talk and eat differently, we all bow down in front of God the same way. We are all the same in the important stuff, and only different in the minor issues. What significance does it have if one eats with their hands, with a fork, or with a couple of chopsticks?

In later years, I was blown away when I witnessed how Christians worshipped at my friend B’s church. They sing, listen to the sermon, read passages from the Bible, which is considered a holy book in Islam and to be respected, and they get connected with the God. And when I noticed how the stories, values, and traditions we claim as ours were also shared by them, my first image of Americans collapsed completely. Before I came to this country, the only Americans I knew were from the movies and soap operas. Naturally, I thought all American women were blond, tall, and beautiful, and all the American men were tall, rich, and handsome. They didn’t have any financial problems, health problems, or any real-life problems; they had only relationship problems and cared about no one but themselves. This was the image in my head about Americans. How wrong I was! I was surprised and fascinated when I observed my friend B’s church worship, when I came together with other families from my son’s school for play dates, or when our neighbors invited us to their Thanksgiving dinner, and also when they came to ours for a Ramadan iftar. It came to me in a flash: Americans have similar family values, religious values, holiday traditions, and love and compassion for their neighbors, just as we do. They are not actors in a soap opera!

What is more, they welcome thousands of foreign students, scholars, refugees, and immigrants from many different countries around the globe each year. Every year Americans are exposed to many cultures, languages, and faith traditions, and hardly anyone is jumping down anybody’s throat for being different. Of course, there are occasional negative comments toward what is different, but even then, most people come together to neutralize that negativity with support and compassion. Different is viewed as richness, as variety, and as interesting. My own tolerance and appreciation of other cultures blossomed because of these experiences.

The United States can have a great ability to bring about peace, as I shared with the ladies that night, because American culture is already open, tolerant of religious freedom, and welcoming to people around the globe. These are the perfect ingredients for peace. America has the power to wage peace in other countries, not with war or fear, but with goodness, faith, acceptance, and aid, to build hospitals and schools, and create jobs and programs that acknowledge human rights and generate good will.

America has long been a mixed salad. Its unique blend of people from around the world, stirred together with mingling flavors, develops a taste for tolerance, for freedom, for the savory experience of diverse cultures living together. May our prayer in this post-9/11 world be this: that we move beyond the ineffectual and destructive politics of warfare and fear, and hold fast to the goodness and power of this nation’s moral tolerance, constitutional freedoms, and potential for peace. God has created us with this potential. More powerful than any military force, I hope my experiences of tolerance and good will in the United States offered a recipe for hope for my friends that night.

Futile cycles are described as two opposing biological reactions that take place in a cell at the same time [1, 2]. As a result, futile cycles have seemingly zero net gain for the cell. Actually, because no process is 100 percent efficient, some energy is lost as heat. Thus, these cycles may even cost cells some energy. They were named “futile” cycles because scientists thought that it was wasteful for a cell to operate two exactly opposite processes simultaneously.

One such process occurs in the powerhouses of cells, the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the places where a process called “oxidative phosphorylation” takes place. Oxidative phosphorylation is an efficient way of producing ATP, the cellular energy currency [1]. In this process, high-energy electrons in nutrients are used to generate potential energy, which is in turn used to produce ATP.

Scientists who worked on mitochondrial function were flabbergasted to discover a family of proteins in the mitochondria that had a strange function. These proteins were dissipating the potential energy in the mitochondria before it could be used to produce ATP. They were named “uncoupling proteins” because they were uncoupling the potential energy buildup from ATP production [3]. Scientists couldn’t imagine what these wasteful proteins were doing in our mitochondria. Uncoupling proteins were decreasing the ATP production efficiency of mitochondria. Therefore, they named this process a futile cycle, where electrons from food were used for building up a potential, and an opposing action of uncoupling proteins were dissipating this potential before it could be stored as ATP [4]. This was similar to short-circuiting a battery by connecting two poles with a wire, and just discharging the energy—energy is lost but no work is done. The scientists took this process as a remnant of a random evolutionary process that was left unfinished—“futile,” with no function at all.

It took several years and the work of a different team of biologists to figure out the benefit of these uncoupling proteins [5]. The scientists were working on the differences between wasps and honey bees. One striking difference between these species was in their ability to adapt to colder temperatures: honey bees couldn’t fly and collect pollen when the outside temperature dropped below 10 C (50 F). They had to stay in their beehives to keep warm. On the other hand, wasps could fly around in colder temperatures. The researchers discovered that the main difference that accounted for this phenomenon was that honey bees didn’t have uncoupling proteins in their mitochondria, while wasps did. Therefore, it became apparent that the main function of uncoupling proteins was to generate heat for the body to stay warm during the times when outside temperatures fell. The uncoupling proteins, it seemed, were generating heat while dissipating the potential energy (just like the wire that heats up when you connect two poles of a battery in short circuit). Later on, it was discovered that these proteins had crucial functions in all warm-blooded animals, especially in ones that hibernate during winter.

In this case, an event that initially appeared to be meaningless or even stupid turned out to be indispensible for supporting life under certain circumstances. The fact that we cannot see wisdom behind certain events does not mean they are random or meaningless. Perhaps it is just a matter of time when, in some context, the seemingly futile thing will have a vital role. So the question remains: is there really any such thing as “random” or “futile”?

References

1. Alberts, B., J.H. Wilson, and T. Hunt. 2008. “Molecular Biology of the Cell.” 5th ed. New York: Garland Science. xxxiii, 1601, [90]

2. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futile_cycle#cite_note-0.

3. Nedergaard, J., D. Ricquier, and L.P. Kozak. 2005. “Uncoupling Proteins: Current Status and Therapeutic Prospects.” EMBO Rep. 6(10), p. 917–21.

4. Jezek, P. and J. Borecky. 1998. “Mitochondrial Uncoupling protein may participate in futile cycling of pyruvate and other monocarboxylates.” Am J Physiol, 1998. 275(2 Pt 1): p. C496–504.

5. Staples, J.F., E.L. Koen, and T.M. Laverty. 2004. “Futile Cycle Enzymes in the Flight Muscles of North American Bumblebees.” J Exp Biol. 207(Pt 5): p. 749–54.

In May 2003, Roderick Mackinnon’s research group at Rockefeller University has published the three-dimensional atomic structure of a voltage-gated potassium channel. MacKinnon also received the Nobel Prize in 2003 for the first potassium channel structure

How electrical signals are conducted through nerve cells has been understood with some detail in the last fifty years, after the seminal work of Hodgkin and Huxley, which earned them a Nobel Prize in 1963. After 40 years, another study is appreciated in the scientific community as the end of one era and the beginning of another one.

Cells, body’s building blocks, are bound by membranes that are impermeable to ions, atoms that carry positive or negative charge. Nerve cells are specialized for having very long arms that can carry electric potentials on their membranes for very long distances. The electric potential (voltage difference) is the result of unequal number of charges across the inside and outside of the cell membrane. Hodgkin and Huxley explained the movement of the electric potential on the membranes by the selective opening of ion channels, proteins embedded in membranes to allow the passage of certain ions. As channels are opened in one part of the nerve cell to allow an electrical potential change, the neighboring stretches somehow sense the change in voltage and open their channels as well. The propagation of the electric potential depends on the fast sensing, opening and closing of these channels. The molecular details of these voltage-gated channels have been somewhat obscure; however important properties have been determined using methods pioneered by Hodgkin and Huxley, generally dubbed electrophysiology, the study of biological material using electrical methods. Scientists

have imagined channel proteins as many helices running through the membrane, some of which could be pulled to the inside or outside of the cell depending on the voltage across the

membrane. Movement of these helices across the membrane could open channels for potassium or sodium. Finally in May 2003, Roderick Mackinnon’s research group at Rockefeller University has published the three-dimensional atomic structure of a voltage-gated potassium channel. MacKinnon also received the Nobel Prize in 2003 for the first potassium channel structure, which explained the selectivity of a potassium channel for allowing only potassium ions to pass, but nothing else.

MacKinnon is a mixed structural biologist and electrophysiologist. His group has isolated potassium channel molecules from membranes, and tested them for strict functionality as it has been observed that protein molecules isolated out of their natural environments may lose their activities and chemical properties. The next step of their study was to crystallize the channel molecules-much like forming salt crystals-and diffract x-rays through the aligned molecules in the lattice of their crystals. These diffraction patterns are mathematically solved to give atomic positions of electrons, hence atoms, in the protein crystal. Several research groups failed at this step, since purified potassium channels never formed crystals, as flexible protein molecules are unlikely to form crystals. Here, MacKinnon cleverly used antibodies they developed specifically against the channel. These antibodies, used radically differently than they are in nature, overcame the flexibility of the voltage-sensing regions of the channel, by binding to the channel and fixing it to a specific conformation. The ordered channel crystallized and gave the structure of the potassium channel and the antibody bound to it.

The structure of the channel consists mostly of helices, which in the center surround a potassium-conduction pore, and “voltage-sensing paddles” in the periphery. When the gate is closed, the helical paddles lay parallel at the cellular side of the membrane. Gate opening only happens when the paddles are pulled through the membrane to the outer side as voltage pulls the positive charge of the paddles to the outside (see figure). Now, it looks like 50 years of data collected by electrophysiologists and biochemists can be explained coherently (such as the observed 14 positive charges residing on the paddles moving through the membrane). As is usual with such discoveries, many new questions are asked, such as how the charged paddles can go through the oily, highly uncharged membranes. There are also valid scientific objections, such as the antibody distorting the potassium channel structure. However, this is one of those bright moments in any field of research, when researchers go over the threshold of collection of enough observations to discovery and understanding.

References

• Jiang, Y., Lee, A., Chen, J., Ruta, V., Cadene, M., Chait, B.T., MacKinnon, R., Nature 423, 33-41 (2003).
• Jiang, Y., Ruta, V., Chen, J., Lee, A., MacKinnon, R., Nature 423, 42-48 (2003).
• Sigworth, F.J., Nature 423, 21-22 (2003).

It is the collaborative work of the mind and heart that will yield the desired spiritual and behavioral education of gifted people. But, how is it possible to satisfy the mind and the heart both at the same time? Traditionally, the heart is associated with religion and the mind is associated with science. So, cooperation between the mind and heart means cooperation between science and religion. Unfortunately, some religious subjects that solely depend on acceptance rather than investigation have been overemphasized during the course of many centuries for various reasons. As a result of this overemphasis and other incentives, Western society has broken the ties between science and religion, leading to an unbalanced relation between the mind and heart. In this imbalance, the mind is united with the ego and oppresses the heart; hearts are suffocated in the name of rationalism, and science is used as a means to deny religion.

It is true that religion is a way that eventually recourses to submission and acceptance rather than questioning. However, a correct perception of religion will never contradict the requirements of the mind, because of the fact that both religion and the mind originate from God. Therefore, a true religion will accept information about the universe that is arrived at by intellectual questioning as a way of acquiring knowledge of God; this consequently links the mind to the heart. A true religion will feed the heart in such a way that the love that sparks therein will give momentum to the investigations of the mind, enabling greater knowledge of God to be acquired, which will in turn increase the love of God and thus, link the heart to mind. It is the lack of this true cyclic relationship between the mind and the heart that has yielded uncontrolled, uneducated, self-idolized minds that boost the ego, creating a vicious circle in which the ego propels the mind. Therefore, the question is “how is one to achieve a unity between the mind and heart so that the education of gifted people yields humble servants to the community and to God?”

The solution to this problem lies partially in what can be called “ego education.” Although it may sound new, this concept is deeply rooted in Muslim cultures, and is called “adab.” In the context of this article, adab can be briefly described as knowing the ideal function and limits of the ego in order to be a good servant of God and a faithful member of society. Adab is traditionally learned from people who are already practicing it. This is referred to as education through the language of disposition (hal). Therefore, teachers who are already adorned with adab are needed to educate the egos of gifted people. It can be easily understood from a short reflection that the prophets and the saints throughout history and the sages in different cultures are those who represent the mission of ego education at different levels. For Muslims, adab is primarily learned from Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, who is the person that practiced and taught the way that leads to the point where the mind and heart are united under submission to God. Even according to the eyes of an outside viewer, Prophet Muhammad was an excellent and a distinguished person as a teacher, as a leader, as a servant of God, as a family man, as a commander, as a strategist . . . a person who came up with a totally new understanding of life and religion. In our context, we can take this as a model where a new approach to religion can be seen as an innovation introduced by a gifted person. Based on this model, it can be said that by learning the good behavior of Prophet Muhammad, who was a gifted person in many aspects, a method can be developed for the education of the ego of gifted people. Here, some of the conclusions from such an analysis are presented.

Ownership of the innovation

Although it is Prophet Muhammad who announced and taught Islam, it is God who taught him the religion and sent the Qur’an. Therefore, it is the Prophet who is the fountain through which the water of Islam flows, but the Prophet himself is neither the owner nor the originator of Islam. Similarly, any invention, be it a theory or a machine or a social system or a strategy, is only owned, originated, and inspired by God. The inventor is only the fountain through which God sends the innovation(1) as a blessing to humanity.

This point is important in many aspects. In terms of society, this way of consideration prevents the idolization of certain people and opens the door of thanksgiving and praise of God. For the inventor, it saves them from becoming an arrogant person and also leads them to thanksgiving and praising God. From another aspect, an invention is a gift from God to the inventor and society. Therefore, especially for the inventor, who, in this case, plays a role similar to that of a mother, this gift quickly leads to love of God.

Innovation as a unit of comparison

One of the purposes for the creation of the ego and the apparent potential it is given is that the individual can use these as a unit of comparison to learn about his Creator.(2) In other words, it is to humbly say “how beautifully created am I and how beautiful is my Creator” instead of arrogantly saying “how beautiful am I.” In a hadith, Prophet Muhammad is related as saying, “My Lord educated me, and how beautifully He has educated me.”(3) In the original text of this saying, the word adab is used for education. Based on this model, both being gifted in any area and the innovation that follows this potential are great units of comparison. A person who is gifted in any area can see God as the ultimate source of his own talents and as the omnipresent Lord who exercises His attributes in the universe on all scales.

Superiority versus neediness

Without the appropriate ego education, it is dangerously easy for a gifted person to indulge in the conviction that they can do things better than others and that they, not someone else, can invent something because they are superior to others. Such a conviction is powered by the ego and is also at the same time a means of feedback for further strengthening the ego in a vicious cycle. A gifted person can very easily fall into the deep and dark pit of arrogance with such thoughts, and will suffer in their social life due to this conviction.

An educated ego, on the other hand, knows that it owns nothing and it has no real creative power. It knows that it can only receive good things from its Creator.(4) What falls to its lot is only awareness of its poverty and neediness and praying to the Almighty for the satisfaction of its needs. This way of understanding leads to the result that it is the inventor who is needy of the invention, because of the way they have been created, because of the potential they have; in other words because of the “hunger” they have been given.(5) These needs can only be met by God, Who is the All-Rich, the All-Beneficent. Contemplation and experimenting in several ways must be considered both as conscious prayers and awareness of the neediness to reach the result of an effort.

Prior to the start of the prophethood, Prophet Muhammad used to seclude himself in a cave on a nearby mountain and contemplate the problems of society, the oppression, the unfortunate state of the women, the absurdity of the idolatry . . . Distressed by these factors, he wished for a salvation that would extinguish the fire within him and eventually deliver society from its wretchedness. This was the way in which the Prophet felt his neediness, and God replied to his conscious and unconscious prayers by choosing him as His Messenger.

So, what is so important about being gifted?

The special thing about being gifted is that the gifted person’s prayers are answered quickly in the way in which they are gifted. This is why certain people can do something or learn things very quickly and others cannot. A parallel to this is the acceptance of the prayers of the saints and the prophets. According to the Risale-i Nur, the prayers made in the language of natural need, innate potential, and in intense difficulty are quickly accepted and responded to(6) and such is the case with gifted people. The potential of the gifted person builds the foundation for the acceptance of their prayers, which are made in the language of their neediness in order to fulfill and develop their potential.

Servanthood as a gift

Every person is a creation of God on which different combinations of His names are manifested. This means that every person has a different and unique gift from others. In daily life, we usually recognize gifts of the people who achieve outstanding things. However, every person can realize the particular gifts given to them. The best of these gifts is the belief and love of God. Every person is given a potential to discover the existence of God and a potential to make an acquaintance with God that leads to His love. For every single human being, this discovery is unique; it is a discovery that nobody else can make for another. 

References

1. Nursi, S., The Words, Kaynak A.S., Izmir, 1997, First Word, pp. 4-5.
2. ibid, Thirtieth Word, pp. 228-229.
3. Al-Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa, 1/72.
4. Nursi, S., The Words, Thirtieth Word, pp. 229-230.
5. ibid, Eighteenth Word, pp. 296.
6. ibid, Twenty-third Word, pp. 412-415.